BENGALURU: The death of Saketh Sreenivasaiah, a 22-year-old youth from Bengaluru and a graduate of IIT Madras, at Berkeley Hills in California has shaken the student community and parents who have sent their children abroad for higher studies. Their concerns are around emotional struggles, bank loans, academic pressure and jobs.
A 22-year-old student, who went to the University of Tartu in Estonia under a student-exchange programme to pursue a master's in European studies and international relations, told TNIE under condition of anonymity,
“I went there with a lot of excitement but experienced cultural shock and racism as there are not many Indians in Estonia. This added anxiety and stress. On top of that, I was homesick and had no friends at all. I couldn't complete my fourth semester there."
He added, "In the third semester, I got a scholarship of 800 Euros per month, but the expenses were always higher. I had to opt for a part-time job. But getting that too is not easy as one has to have a Temporary Resident Permit, which I could not get for various reasons. It is difficult to survive in other countries when there is no income. Fortunately, when I approached my university back in Karnataka to complete my fourth semester, they agreed and I flew back."
Another student, who went for a research programme in the department of Aerosol Science and Engineering at Washington University in St Louis in the USA, said, "Research labs in foreign universities are totally different from those in India.”
We keep it to ourselves: Indian students open up on mental stress in US
“As part of my six months research programme, when I entered the lab, it took a lot of time to understand how systems work here. This created a lot of anxiety on a daily basis as all other students having studied in USA were aware of the labs and the systematic research work there. But most of the times, I lacked peers around me to share the difficulties I was going through in terms of academics and research,” the student said.
When asked if there are counsellors in the campus for students to approach in terms of mental health issues, she said, “There are counsellors and students can approach them whenever they go through mental health issues. However, as students, we keep these issues to ourselves and never seek help to address them.”
Meanwhile, Rachana Raman who has sent her to son and daughter to study in USA, said, “We speak to them at least a week and it is mainly due to time difference and busy schedule at the universities. I agree that safety of our children with the current scenario in USA is definitely worrisome. We have sent them to study with a lot of risk.”
She also stressed that students have a lot of pressure as they would have borrowed huge loans for higher studies. “The pressure exists because students have to secure jobs to repay the loans. And with the scale of pay in India, it will take a long time for them to repay loans. However, if they secure a job abroad, they can not only repay but also save some money for themselves.”
Dr Arathi Krishna, MLC and Vice-Chairperson of state’s NRI forum, said, “Students who travel abroad for studies usually approach us when they face visa issues. However, they have never approached us with mental health or harassment faced in the foreign universities. Some students can deal with the academic pressure while others give up.”